Cartridge magazines which are used for providing a plurality of cartridges to firearms are typically designed to hold a predetermined number of cartridges. The capacity of a cartridge magazine is generally a function of the length and width of the magazine, the size and orientation of the cartridges held within the magazine, and the space consumed by the follower assembly used to move cartridges through the magazine chamber. To facilitate shooting convenience, manufacturers have generally sought to maximize the cartridge capacity of their firearms, subject to design constraints. In this regard, manufacturers have designed certain handguns, such as 9 mm handguns, to receive a cartridge magazine which holds cartridges in a double-column arrangement, thereby increasing the number of cartridges which may be held by the magazine. Additionally, manufacturers have devised certain design changes, for example, those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,811,510, for extending the capacity of cartridge magazines beyond the capacity intended by the manufacturer of the firearm.
In the United States, limitations have recently been enacted on the cartridge capacity of magazines for certain firearms. This federal statute limits the cartridge capacity of many magazines to ten cartridges, which is less than the original capacity intended by manufacturers of firearms and or magazines. Additionally, it is expected that, in order to comply with federal regulations, cartridge magazine manufacturers will be required to demonstrate that their magazines cannot be readily altered by the user to increase the capacity of the magazine beyond the ten cartridge limit.
One solution to this problem is to reduce the size of the magazine, such as by reducing the length and/or width, thereby limiting the space available in the magazine to house cartridges. However, in many firearms, the size and external configuration of the cartridge magazine are dictated by the size and configuration of the firearm magazine well. Changing the size of the magazine would require corresponding changes to the firearm, which would be prohibitively expensive. Furthermore, re-tooling to provide magazines that hold less than ten cartridges would not be cost effective, given the availability of many magazines that were designed to hold more than ten cartridges. It would be advantageous, therefore, to provide an assembly for restricting the capacity of a cartridge magazine to a predetermined limit without requiring changes in the external size and configuration of the magazine.